Many of us dedicate a lifetime searching for the right path to our truths. There can be this burning desire to do everything we can to find more inner peace, happiness, love, joy, etc. The mistake many of us make is in believing that what we desire has somehow escaped us. There is a common misconception that we have to go looking outside of ourselves to find what we believe we are lacking. We may even spend what feels like forever trekking uphill towards a mirage that we are certain holds all of the answers we need.

Adding to the confusion is the noise around us. The outside shouts and constant stream of advice from everyone claiming to know the way, can certainly distract us from our inner truths. All of this noise can become confusing, especially when we make the mistake of believing others know what is right for us better than we do.

It can be both a shock and a relief to realize that the very thing we seek was always right here with us.

The search is often what takes us away from that which we seek. It is when we come back home for our answers that we unveil the truths that live within us. When we stop searching and sit with ourselves to really witness and see, we often discover the answers were always right here. This realization can feel like a bright light coming on in a very dark room, and yet there is a strange familiarity that sets in.

I am finding it useful to journey along my path guided by these 3 important ways of being. Perhaps they may mirror the inner whisperings of your soul.

1) Look Inside

Shut off the noise around you — all of it. Then just listen and be with yourself. The rest will unfold as it is supposed to. Trust what you hear when it is coming from inside of you. It is all you ever really need.

2) Stop Pushing

See what happens when you end the frantic search. Instead of working so hard towards what it is you really want, just create the space to have that right now. Joy doesn’t come from getting a high paid job, a relationship, a new car etc. Joy comes from within us and it is available right now. So does everything else we may want. Stop pushing and start receiving, it’s really that simple.

3) Celebrate

What might change if you recognized how awesome it is to wake up every day and get to be you? Imagine guiding your life from the understanding that being you is the gift worth celebrating each and every day. I don’t know about you, but the very idea of this excites me greatly!

Emily Madill is an author and certified professional coach with a BA in business and psychology. Emily is one of Thrive Global's Editors-at-large.

She has published 11 titles in the area of self-development and empowerment, both for children and adults. You can find her writing in Chicken Soup for the Soul:Think Positive for Kids; Thrive Global; The Huffington Post; Mike Dooley’s TUT.com; Best Self Magazine; MindBodyGreen; The Muse; WellthyLiving.ca; TinyBuddha; Aspire Magazine and others.

Emily holds credentials through the International Coaching Federation. She has a private coaching practice and an online program offering courses that support people to create lasting habits around self-love and self-awareness. She lives on Vancouver Island, Canada, with her husband and two sons. Learn more at: emilymadill.com

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